Are factors such as happiness and life satisfaction more important than economic output?
Happiness and life satisfaction are end goals while economic output is a mean to achieve them.
https://agenda.weforum.org/2014/10/wellbeing-replace-gdp-policy-making/?utm_content=buffer6914e&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer
Happiness and life satisfaction are end goals while economic output is a mean to achieve them.
the use of (real) GDP per capita growth (output growth) is usually critisized on the grounds that it does not reveal the whole story about households wellbeing. However, it is a good indicator for growth. But issues of happiness and life satisfaction matters from a welfare story. So, it depends on the resaerch question you are posing. For example, one may ask the question of how crime rates impacts growth/productivity etc (there is quite a litterature on that)..so the best dependent variable would be output growth. But if the question is how crime rates explain variations in the "quality" of life between cities or state, so the best indicator would be a measure or index of happiness.
I agree fully with Ram, economical proceedures are the means and hapiness is the final goal. One can not choose between them as the first is part of the foundation on which happiness is establish upon.
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Psychology
- Emotional Psychology
- Happiness